Jim Beam Distillers’ Share Batch 1 - Toasted Brown Rice
In Depth Review
Distillery exclusives aren’t terribly common in the bourbon industry. Traveling through Kentucky you might find one out of every three distilleries you visit will have something unique. In contrast, in Scotland almost every distillery one has a unique distillery exclusive gem tucked away on the shelves. But this truism may be changing, with bourbon production expanding exponentially distillers may have more opportunity to craft new and unique expressions for distillery gift shops.
So, when I visited Jim Beam recently and found this distillery exclusive Distillers’ Share bottle, I immediately grabbed it. The new Distillers’ Share expressions are a new series of experimental releases that will be released a few times a year and sold exclusively at Jim Beam’s gift shop. This isn’t Jim Beam’s first whiskey derived using rice as a flavoring grain, after releasing it as part of Little Book Chapter 4 blend and as Jim Beam Brown Rice bourbon in 2015. But after looking at the label, I had a few reservations. Released in Fall of 2022, this first iteration of Distillers’ Share uses toasted brown rice as a flavoring grain and is aged for 5 years at their Clermont facility before being bottled at 51% ABV. And while the age itself wasn’t a flag, the $70 MSRP for a 375ml was. That’s a lot of money for a younger experimental product. So, if you find this at Jim Beam’s gift shop should you buy it? Let’s dive in to find out.
Age: 5 Years
ABV: 51%
Cask: Charred American white oak
MSRP: $70 for 375ml
Distillery Name: Jim Beam
Review Date: 3/22/23
Color: Dark Caramel
Nose: The nose starts off with a funky, earthy, musty smell mixed with fresh cut lumber. Almost like a damp forest floor near a sawmill. As it settles in the glass, banana and peanut butter show up creating a sweet and sour nuttiness - almost like a mixture between the classic notes of Jim Beam and Old Forester. There’s more oak here than I was expecting for a 5-year product, with lots of barrel char influences. Interesting nose – but not sure I love it.
Palate: The front of the palate is all peanut dust with a streak of chili oil. Like a peanut satay from your favorite Thai restaurant. The midpalate starts to head back in a funky direction, with fresh baked bread, hearty oats, and a touch of granola. The overall experience is lighter than I expected with a mouthfeel that seems to drop off a cliff and disappears quickly. Not sure what the secondary barrel is doing here because it lacks a lot of those deep caramel and toffee notes you can find on other double-barreled products. Mixed up in that funk is a dry wood spice then remains through the finish.
Finish: Even at 51% ABV this has a short finish. The dryness of the midpalate lingers through the finish with a flash of more wood spice and cracked white pepper.
Final Thoughts: For a distillery exclusive, this Jim Beam Toasted Brown Rice is a bit of a disappointment. But it’s a good reminder that not every experiment will work. While the specs made this intriguing, I can’t recommend it. It’s not a bad whiskey necessarily, but at $70 for a 375ml it had to put up a good showing to justify its price. And with its thinner than expected mouthfeel, its musty nose, and almost non-existent finish, I think there are far better ways to spend your money. What this needed is probably another year in the secondary barrel and a proof closer to 107. Even then, I would hesitate to pull the trigger when bottles like New Riff single barrels or Jim Beam’s own Bakers can be had for significantly less money.
